Defibrillator Hub Rejected Amid Planning Controversy

A life‑saving defibrillator, 111 new homes and work at two historic churches feature in this week's planning round‑up.

Life‑saving defibrillator for Bracknell town centre refused (Bracknell PA/2026/0377)

A plan to install a high‑tech "Communication Hub" with a public defibrillator outside Boots in the Lexicon has been turned down, despite no objections from Bracknell Town Council. Bracknell already has nine town‑centre defibrillators, according to defibfinder.com.

Advertising firm JCDecaux and telecoms partner IPN pitched the hub as contemporary street furniture offering free calls, Wi‑Fi, phone charging, wayfinding and a defibrillator paid for by a single digital ad screen. A similar unit in Manchester won praise from Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham for its easy‑to‑use life‑saving kit.

But Bracknell Forest Council planners said the town centre is already saturated with illuminated advertising and another freestanding unit would create unacceptable visual clutter. Previous "street hub" proposals nearby were also refused and lost on appeal. Officers ruled the community benefits did not outweigh the harm from the advertising board and refused both planning and advert consent. The applicants appealed the decision on June 11.

111 houses north of Reading Road, Arborfield (Wokingham application 243099)

An inspector allowed an appeal to build 111 houses on land north of Reading Road. Wokingham's shortfall in its five‑year housing land supply - only around 2.3-2.5 years - triggered the government "tilted balance", meaning the borough's plan was treated as out of date.

The inspector accepted there would be some harm as farmland becomes housing, but found the site sustainable with reasonable access to services and public transport. Issues over highways, ecology, flooding and trees were judged controllable by conditions and legal agreements. Overall, the delivery of market and affordable homes outweighed the harm and the inspector overturned Wokingham's refusal, so the houses will be built.

St James' Church, Finchampstead (Wokingham application 260968)

Permission has been granted for St James' Church to remove a diseased ash tree at the churchyard entrance and grind out the roots. The gates hide historic graves, including that of Lady Helen Gladys Liddell, who left much nearby land to the church.

The ash is suffering severe dieback, with only a quarter of its crown remaining and is judged at risk of failure near roads and paths. Wokingham's tree officers support removal but emphasised protecting birds' nests; officers recommended carrying out the work after August to allow nesting birds to fledge.

St Michael's Church, Church Lane, Warfield (Bracknell 25/00517/FUL)

Bracknell Forest Council approved replacing the boundary wall, fence and gates at St Michael and All Angels with a traditional design using oak timber and a brick plinth, reusing existing bricks where possible. Conditions require the timber to match the existing in species, dimensions, profile, finish and construction method, and the brick plinth to be repointed with lime mortar only; cement‑based mortars are banned.

For safety, fence post heights are limited to 5 foot 7 inches and the open lattice design must be retained to maintain visibility for pedestrians.

Ted O'Neill, Local Democracy Reporter